A reader writes with an updated version of a long-standing and familiar complaint: the slighting of Tacoma, inspired this time by cable channel HGTV’s promotion of its Dream Home competition which this year features a luxury residence in Gig Harbor.

It makes a difference financially if a Tacoma resident has an Amazon job in Tacoma or Seattle. If Tacoma wants those jobs here, rather than being a really big bedroom community, it will take a concerted effort to recruit or grow them here.

Retailers enter their most crucial month — the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas dash — with their industry in turmoil, facing questions about the economy, competition, customer preferences and habits and how many will be around when Holiday Shopping Season 2018 begins.

With an Air Force pilot shortage that has hit 2,000, and commercial airlines in a hiring boom, service leaders are brainstorming ways to address a deepening crisis, eying improved financial incentives and a host of administrative actions to improve quality of life for aviators and their families.

The cost of crime is a huge but under-appreciated economic burden. The money people and businesses spend to deter theft could have been spent on product development, or more efficient machinery, or an expanded building.

If one positive came out of the banking-industry debacle, it was revival of the notion of the stress test, an exercise in what-ifs to evaluate threats and preparedness. Businesses need to conduct stress tests of their own, and soon.